San Francisco Chronicle | January 17, 2012

In the tradition set by landmark illustrated books such as “Maus” and “Persepolis,” a new graphic novel about political unrest in Iran in a social-media age is being heralded as a first in literary activism.

Based on YouTube videos, photos and blogs posted by protesters who risked their lives to transmit their views, “Zahra’s Paradise” collates everything into the fictional story of Mehdi, a 19-year-old Iranian who disappeared during the 2009 protests that drew 3 million to downtown Tehran to protest the presidential election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Written by Amir and illustrated by Khalil, two Bay Area men who use nom de plumes for their safety, “Zahra’s Paradise” tells the story of an Iranian mother’s Kafkaesque search for a son under a regime where information often disappears.